LOS ANGELES – Tuesday, May 14, 2013 – The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board today approved, by 5-2, the first ever in-district reform petition to transform the failing Weigand Avenue Elementary School in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. The new arrangement will be in place for the 2013-2014 school year.

Parents at Weigand Avenue Elementary School in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles will now move forward with the first ever 100 % in-district transformation option provided in California’s Parent Trigger law. Parents deliberately chose this option to bring in new leadership for the failing school. At the same time, this option means no teachers at the school will need to be transferred or replaced. Additionally, there will be no charter operator selected to come in to turn the school around.

The LAUSD Board vote follows recent verification by the district of the Weigand Parents United Parent Trigger petition signed by 61% of eligible parents at the school.

“We thank the school board for its vote of support. We look forward to working with the school district and the great teachers at our school to begin turning it around. It’s been a long road to get here, but today the school board told us they agree it’s time for a new day and fresh start at Weigand Avenue Elementary. All our children will benefit because of this vote,” said Llury Garcia, lead parent coordinator for Weigand Parents United.

“Since passage of California’s historic Parent Trigger law over three years ago, opponents of the Parent Trigger movement have rooted their ardent opposition almost entirely in a conspiracy theory about charter schools. But the Weigand Elementary parents are not interested in a charter school. They are using their power under the Parent Trigger to work collaboratively with their teachers and the school district in this first ever in-district reform petition. Unfortunately, the parents have still met with intense opposition. Because the parents of Weigand have chosen an option not involving charter schools, opponents of the Weigand Parent Trigger have been exposed as being simply opposed to parent power. While we strongly differ with these opponents, their position is perfectly legitimate and we welcome that debate,” said Ben Austin, executive director for Parent Revolution.

“The vociferous critics pushing and promoting Parent Trigger conspiracy theories must now either embrace the Weigand parents or admit their opposition is simply about denying parents an equal seat at the decision-making table for their children’s education,” Austin said.